Dark Fire
by mysticalflute
Summary: Rumplestiltskin's attempt to save Baelfire doesn't go as he planned. (AU starting from the 3B finale)
1. Chapter 1

"Hook and I worked too hard to keep things the way they were, but I'm sorry, I can't save your son, as much as I loved him and wanted to. He died a hero! Don't take that away from him!" the blonde woman cried through her tears as she held tightly to his hand, the portal attempting to pull her in.

Rumpelstiltskin frowned and let her go, watching as the portal took her away. Back to the future, back to the Land Without Magic. To the place he himself would be going to in just over two years now.

He held the potion in his hand and looked at it with a frown. They had already restored things to how it should have been (in their own words of course). Apparently Snow White and Prince Charming had an interesting first meeting, which amused him greatly, but he couldn't get his mind off the words the woman said.

Baelfire died. Despite his best efforts, despite the vision Rumplestiltskin had had of his son enjoying a married life with a woman he couldn't make out clearly, Baelfire ended up _dead_. The woman hadn't said anything about Baelfire ever getting married, so something got screwed up along the way.

That woman was supposed to love Baelfire, and yet she let him _die_ , begging him not to save his son. While apparently, his son had a son of his own. If there was a child involved, he needed his father. Baelfire needed to be there for his son, like Rumplestiltskin had not been there for him.

What harm would it cause to allow Baelfire to live?

What sort of parent would he be if he allowed Baelfire to _die_?

Rumplestiltskin needed to figure out a way out of this mess. Saving his son's life would help him repent for what he'd done to his son in the past. But how could he do it? How could he save his son?

Rumplestiltskin thought back to who he'd met in the past that might have had something against him. The list was long – longer than he would really like to admit – but there was really only one person that stuck out in his mind.

Zelena. The Wicked Witch of the West. Now that was a woman who would be prevented from doing what she wished. But he knew Regina would have to cast the curse… but he could find a way to stop Zelena from falling to the point of killing his son. He would be sure of it.

So Rumplestiltskin did the exact opposite of what "the Savior" asked him to do.

The potion shattered as he threw it to the ground, the liquid pooling around his feet as he breathed heavily, staring down at it.

Baelfire would live. He would be sure of it.

He just needed to find a way to contact Zelena to ah – _encourage_ her to be on his side. Or at least, to get her to not kill his son.

He knew, of course, that it would be difficult. Zelena wasn't exactly the most stable person. But Rumplestiltskin was nothing if not a fighter when it came to Balefire.

"What do you want, Rumplestiltskin?" the green woman asked when he managed to get a hold of her through a magic mirror.

"A deal, dearie."

"Deal? What sort of deal and why should I make something with you after what you did to me?" Zelena asked, glaring into the glass.

"Because if you accept… I promise to make you powerful once your sister casts the curse," he said. "I can adjust the curse to make you beloved, to make you even more loved than your sister thinks she can be. I can give you everything you desire."

"Why should I help you?"

He could only smirk as he gazed into the mirror."You know I have visions, dearie. And I saw a vision of you."

Zelena's eyes narrowed slightly, but he could tell she was very interested in what he had to say. "Go on."

"And it seems that… in the future, you die. A very painful and brutal death, all because you harm someone that I love very much," he explained. "So, unless you wish to die a terrible death before you can get your revenge on those that wronged you, I suggest you take that deal."

"Can I ask you something?" Zelena suddenly said, breaking him from his thoughts. "Why did you choose Regina over me to cast this curse of yours?"

"It's like I told you, dearie. Regina has someone she loves. Her father. She doesn't know it yet, of course, but her father will be sacrificed to cast the curse. You, on the other hand…"

"I don't have a person I love most besides myself."

"Exactly, and I doubt you'd want to cast a curse which requires you to die before you can see your handy work done."

Her face remained stoic, but Rumplestiltskin could see the fear and anger in her eyes no matter how hard she tried to fight. "What deal is it you want to make?" she finally asked.

"You leave my friends and family alone, and you won't die. And I'll make sure you have the glory you desire when your sister casts the curse."

Zelena pondered this for a moment. "Really? You will? What sort of power will I have if she's the one in charge of the curse?"

"Leave that to me. Now… do we have a deal?"

"Very well, Rumplestiltskin. You have a deal."

The imp giggled. "Good. That way, we both get what we want."

"Ah. Can I add something to this deal?" Zelena asked.

He frowned and looked at her with a tilt of his head. "I believe I am the one who makes these deals, Zelena. I already gave you a way to survive. What more do you need?"

"Dorothy. I want her cursed. If Regina gets to take revenge on Snow White, I should be able to take revenge on Dorothy after everything she's put me through here in Oz. Can you do that?" There was desperation in her voice. The exact sort of tone Rumplestiltskin absolutely loved to deal with.

He smirked in the mirror. What harm would it cause to himself to allow Dorothy to come with them to the Land Without Magic? Besides, it might make Zelena even more unwilling to have his son be killed. "Very well, dearie. If you can somehow get her to the Enchanted Forest when your sister casts the curse, she will be swept away in it with the rest of us."

"Thank you. Very well, Rumplestiltskin, you have a deal."

* * *

Emma screamed as she was ripped through the portal back to what she hoped was the Storybrooke she remembered. She hoped she wouldn't have lost anything or anyone she loved. As much as she wanted to have been raised by her family, she knew screwing up the timeline would be worse. Especially because she and Hook would have been the only two who knew what the truth was, in a town, or maybe a world, filled with people who thought something different.

She grunted as she landed hard on the barn floor. Why could traveling through portals never come with an airbag? Or a mattress?

"Swan, are you alright?" Hook asked as he helped her stand up. Marian was standing fearfully in the corner. Clearly shocked at where she was.

"I – yeah I'm fine. God I'm so glad to be home," she said, her eyes widening as the word settled. "Home. I'm home. This is where I belong – where Henry and I belong. God… I have to go make sure everyone's okay!"

Her heart pounded in her chest as she raced off to Granny's, ignoring Hook and Marian as she ran.

Storybrooke, to her relief, looked exactly the same. The shops and restaurants were familiar and looked as they should. The people were the same – from what she could see, and she burst into Granny's, relief flooding her as everyone that had been at the party before she went back in time was there. The 'Welcome Baby Boy' sign was hanging above it as it had when she left. Good. Good.

"Emma, did you have enough time to yourself?" her mother asked, holding her baby brother close. Her father was standing up, talking to Red, and Henry was rushing over to her. Everything looked normal. Thank goodness.

"Oh – yeah of course. I'm fine. I'm sorry I ever thought I needed to go back to New York. Being back in time… well, it made me realize where home really is. It's here, with you."

"We're not going back to New York?" Henry asked, smiling with relief.

"No kid – or, not forever because I'm sure there's some stuff you want to bring back here. We're staying here. We're home. Mom… Dad… I'm sorry, I missed you," she said with a relieved sigh as she fell into her parents, her little brother in between them. Hook and Marian slipped into the diner, and she heard the shocked cry from Robin Hood, but ignored it as Snow spoke.

"Oh sweetheart, we missed you too," Snow replied with a smile. "Now come on, sit down so your father and I can announce your brother's name."

Emma did so quickly, eagerly as she looked up at her parents.

Her father tapped a spoon against his glass to get everyone's attention, with a smile. "Snow and I wanted to thank all of you for supporting us through the pregnancy and for joining us tonight. It means the world to us."

"Ladies and gentlemen of Storybrooke. We would like to introduce you to our son… Prince Leo."

The diner erupted into applause.

Emma smiled and reached over, stroking the back of Leo's hand. "Welcome to the world, Leo…" she said softly, smiling up at her parents. "You seemed… more happy to see me than normal."

"Well, the Dark One is still out there. We were worried he might have hurt you."

Emma looked over at Rumplestiltskin, sitting with Belle, Will Scarlet, and Anastasia Tremaine, and frowned. "He's right there and we haven't done anything against him. Why would he hurt me?"

Henry and her parents balked, then frowned in concern.

"Emma… Rumplestiltskin isn't the Dark One. He hasn't been since he sacrificed himself for us during Pan's curse," her mother said with a look of alarm. "You know that."

Emma paled. Something _had_ been changed. But how?

She looked over at Rumplestiltskin again, who was now stepping over to her, leaning heavily on the cane she hadn't seen since the curse broke. "You. You didn't drink that potion to make you forget about Hook and I."

"Quite right, Miss Swan," he said, looking like he had no regrets.

"Why?"

"Because what sort of parent would I be if I let my son die? What would you have done in my position? Although it didn't exactly go the way I'd thought…"

The door opened, and Emma looked up, an unmistakable sign of darkness in the man at the door, a dagger attached to his hip.

Her heart stopped.

"Neal?!"

He looked over at her, a dark grin on his face. "Sorry I'm late."


	2. Chapter 2

She felt the color drain from her face. He'd become everything he'd hated. But this couldn't be possible. Could it? "Neal. How – why – what happened?"

"You don't remember?" the man asked with a small smirk as he stepped toward her, before his eyes widened a little. "Oh. That's right. You _wouldn't_ remember. You were from that time that I died in."

She nodded slowly. How was this happening?

"Why are you here, Dark One?" Regina asked, breaking Emma out of the stupor she felt.

"I have a gift for the new little prince," he replied, a toy bear appearing in his hand in a puff of smoke.

Emma saw her parents flinch back in fear, clutching the baby close and she stepped forward, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Don't hurt them or the baby. Please, Neal. I know you're still in there."

For a brief moment, Emma saw the old Neal flash in his eyes, but it was masked again by the darkness. "I have no intention of hurting them Emma. After all, I know what it's like to be without parents." There was a visible wince from Rumplestiltskin at the words."I would never want to hurt their child, or any child. You know me better than that."

Did she though? He was the Dark One now. Who knew how that would change the Neal Cassidy she knew in Portland, or the one she'd found in New York, or even the one that had sacrificed his life to save the entire town?

"Emma, please," Neal said as he held out the gift bag she hadn't noticed before. "I just want to give the baby a gift."

"I'll take that," Anastasia suddenly said as she snatched the bag out of Neal's hand, a pulse of blue magic running down the sides of the bag before she nodded once, holding it out to Emma's parents. "It's clean."

Her father took the bag and slowly took the tissue paper out of it, lifting up a stuffed bear with a small smile. "Well thank you Dar- Neal. I'm sure Leo will appreciate it."

Neal smiled, before turning his attention to the rest of the group gathered in Granny's. "Listen well. All of you. I do not plan to harm the innocent. I do not plan to harm the children. What I do plan is to get revenge for those that have been wronged by the villains in this town.."

Emma blanched. "Neal, _no_. This isn't you."

"You're right, Emma. It isn't me. Because I'm not the man that died that you knew in the other world. I'm someone much, much stronger," the man replied.

"Neal, please, _please_ don't do this," Emma begged. She didn't want to see him turn into a killer. Not like his father had been long ago.

"I have to Emma. The villains in this town have gotten away with too much for too long. It's time someone actually gives them what they deserve. All of those dirty little secrets will be coming out." He wasn't looking at her as he spoke – instead he was glaring right at Hook. "Tell me… did you tell Emma what you did to me before you asked for a kiss in Neverland?"

Hook stepped forward, holding out his hand in a gesture of defeat. "Baelfire – "

"It's Neal!"

Emma's heart sank as she looked between Neal and Hook. She knew, of course, the story of Peter Pan in this world – how Hook was the villain and Pan was the hero, but she'd hoped that it wouldn't be the same when it came to the real version. Pan on his own had been bad enough.

"Oh… judging by the look on your face, Emma… I'd say you don't know what happened. That's so typical of Hook to not tell the full truth of a story," Neal said. Again, there was a brief flicker of the man she knew before it was masked by the darkness and his gaze, dark and cold, turned back to the pirate captain.

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked.

"I'm talking about the reason I was a Lost Boy. The reason I was able to make that stupid coconut pointing to home. It was because Hook abandoned me on Neverland. He turned me in to Pan."

Emma felt sick, and there was a visible shift away from Hook from those standing nearer to him.

"You… you abandoned him to Pan?" Henry whispered.

"Henry, I… it was an accident."

"An accident?! No, Hook, An accident was me landing on your damn ship to begin with when I sacrificed myself for the Darlings. You deliberately sold me out to Pan. You could have taken me home to Mr. and Mrs. Darling but instead you sold me out to a monster." Emma could see the emotions in Neal's eyes, but the darkness was trying to mask them again. But she could only imagine what it was like to be abandoned to someone like Pan as a teenager.

She wondered if she could have been taken to a place like Neverland, or what it would have been like.

Hell. It would have been hell.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Neal," she said softly. "But please… you can't do this. Let me help you find a way to break the Dark One's curse."

"There are only two ways to break it, Emma. You know that as well as I do. True Love's Kiss… or death. But then if someone tries to kill me, well… then they become the Dark One. I don't think you'd want to do that, would you?"

Emma shuddered at the thought.

"I didn't think so. Rest well. All of you. For tomorrow, the real fun begins," Neal said, vanishing in a cloud of black smoke.

Emma inhaled sharply, before she felt herself fall to her knees, overwhelmed with everything that had just happened.

"Oh Emma…" her mother said, kneeling down next to her. "It'll be okay…"

"I-it won't be, mom…" she whispered. "The last time I saw Neal… he was dying in my arms! Zelena had – had led him to his death. She'd told him how to bring Rumplestiltskin back from the Dark One's vault!"

"The price was to become the Dark One. Not to die," Rumplestiltskin said. "That was what the vault was really supposed to be, and what I asked Zelena for after you and the pirate left my castle in the past. I couldn't leave with myself if my son had died. You should understand that, Emma, after all you went through to save Henry in Neverland."

Rubbing her arm, Emma nodded slowly. "But to turn him into the Dark One? The thing he feared the most?" she whispered.

"I didn't have a choice. Magic comes with a price, Miss Swan. You know that as well as I do. It was either become the Dark One… or death."

Emma felt her heart sink. Of course she didn't want Neal to die – he was Henry's father, her first love. There was so much they'd needed to say to each other, and now they could because he wasn't dead. But he was still alive, and that was important, and he wasn't the Neal she knew in… well, she supposed it was the old timeline, or whatever. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to handle this. She didn't think she was true love with Neal, and she certainly didn't want to see anyone die… but she was the Savior. She had to try to save him, didn't she?

"The good thing is, it seems like he isn't going to want to physically harm any of us," her father said, squeezing her shoulder gently in an attempt to comfort her. It didn't work, but Emma was grateful for the attempt.

"Yeah but… with all of the secrets that are going to come out, who's to say that we won't destroy each other?" Emma whispered as she slowly rose to her feet and rubbed at her eyes. "I mean – I'm grateful that he's alive, that Henry has his father because… because in the other timeline, Henry didn't have Regina's spell broken on him until after the funeral."

"That happened," Regina said.

"Which means Henry didn't get to say goodbye to Neal. I was feeling so guilty about it, and that guilt should be gone, but instead it's changed to guilt over Neal being the Dark One at all," she continued.

Rumplestiltskin stepped forward slowly. "That curse can be broken though, Miss Swan. There is no bringing back the dead. It is the cardinal rule of magic."

Emma's breath hitched as something clicked. "Wait. True love doesn't have to just be between a potential romantic couple. It can be between a parent and child. Regina and I both had one with Henry. Why couldn't you have one with him, Rumplestiltskin? You're his father!" This whole thing could have been fixed if Rumplestiltskin had given Neal a True Love's Kiss when the whole mess at the Dark One's Vault started!

"I tried. I believe something additional was added to the Dark One's vault when Zelena planted the book in Belle's library. That… or Baelfire didn't believe in my love for him. But either way, it didn't work with me. I'm sorry."

"You tried. That's all anyone can ask for," her mother said, bouncing Leo in her arms. "You're a hero, Rumplestiltskin."

The former imp shook his head. "If I was a hero, I would be able to save my son from this fate."

"Even heroes stumble."

Rumplestiltskin could only nod slightly. "But for it to be my child…"

"We'll find a way to bring him back without killing him," Emma said, looking at Rumplestiltskin. "I promise."

Emma knew Neal was stubborn. She knew he was bitter and hurt by the past. She knew he hadn't really been able to deal with all of these things since she'd found him in New York. She couldn't imagine how amplified those thoughts and feelings were now that he was the ultimate in darkness.

But as the party tried to get back to normal, no one could suspect what the Dark One was planning as his next move…

"Okay," he whispered to the bird cupped in his hands as he stood in the clock tower. "You know where to go. New York City."

With that, Neal released the bird into the air, watching as it was swallowed by the night sky.


	3. Chapter 3

Snow groaned as she heard the buzz of her cell phone buzzing on the bedside table. Lately, it was Leo waking her up, not her phone, so it was an odd sound to wake up to. She frowned when she realized she didn't recognize the number staring at her.

"Hello?" she asked, voice still thick with sleep.

"Hello darling. It's been a long time."

Snow shot up. "C-Cruella?"

"Ah, you do recognize my voice. I was afraid that you'd forget my voice considering how long it's been," the woman replied. Snow could picture the smirk on Cruella's face.

"How did you get this number?" Snow asked, eyes wide. " _Why_ did you get this number?"

"A little birdie sent it to me. As for why… I suppose someone really wanted dear Ursula and I to come home."

Snow realized instantly what she meant. Neal. The Dark One had, for some reason, sent Cruella her phone number. How Neal knew that she had a history with Cruella, she didn't know. Where Cruella was she didn't know, especially since Cruella hadn't been a part of either curse.

"Where are you?" Snow asked.

"We think we're near the town. There's this orange line in the dirt but we can't seem to get past it. Do you happen to know a way in?"

Closing her eyes, she shook her head in disbelief, glad Cruella couldn't see it. "I.. I need to talk to Regina. She probably knows of a way in. I'll talk to her and call you back as soon as I can, okay?"

"Of course, darling. We'll be waiting."

Snow could only shake her head in disbelief as she ended the call. While she'd known Cruella and Ursula had gone to the Land Without Magic before any of the others had, she hadn't expected them to be able to find Storybrooke. And the fact that it was most likely Neal to send them the information about it worried her.

Letting out a sigh, she knew she had little choice but to tell Charming and Regina that Cruella and Ursula had found their way to Storybrooke.

And Emma. Oh _Emma_. How would she react when she found out what her parents had done?

But she was Snow White of Misthaven after all, and so she would deal with this with the grace and maturity taught to her by her parents and Regina when she was younger. It was her duty as a town leader after all.

"Charming?" she called as she brushed a wrinkle out of the shirt she'd changed into.

She found her husband sitting with Leo on the sofa, a half-finished plate of food in front of him. He turned at the sound of her footsteps and smiled up at her. "Good morning Snow… you okay? You've got a weird look on your face."

"You'll never guess who I just got off the phone with."

He frowned. "Who?"

"Cruella. She and Ursula are outside the Town Line trying to get into town."

Charming stared, eyes wide as he blinked at her. "No."

She nodded slowly. "So… I need to call Regina and see if she knows of a way to get into town from the outside."

Charming shook his head, as if trying to wake up from the impossibility that Cruella and Ursula were actually waiting outside for them.

"We have to go let them in, of course. I just… don't understand why they're here," Charming said.

"Well. There's only one way to find out."

It took them longer than Snow would assume to get Regina to agree to come down to the Town Line with them with the cure to cross, but eventually, they got there, with Emma in tow.

"Who exactly are we letting in to Storybrooke?" Emma asked, holding Leo in her arms as Snow dialed Cruella's number.

"Cruella de Vil and Ursula," she replied, watching Cruella answer on the other side. It was so strange that she could see them but not be able to interact with them.

"Hello darling."

"We're here, Cruella. I'm going to roll the scroll across the line to you now."

"We're ready whenever you are."

Kneeling down in front of the town line, Snow carefully rolled the scroll across it. Cruella anxiously scooped it into her hands and got behind the wheel of a car Snow knew Ursula would never drive.

"Well well… it seems the years have been good to you, Snow White," Cruella said with a grin as they pulled up alongside the queen.

"Hello Cruella, Ursula. It appears the years have been good to you as well."

"Oh yes, _very_ good, for the both of us," Cruella replied with a knowing glance at Ursula. It was then Snow realized their hands were clasped together over the gear shift.

Snow's eyes widened. "Oh. _Oh_! Um. Congratulations?" That was what people said in that sort of situation, right?

"Thank you darling. We're quite happy. Now. Is there a place for us to rest our weary heads? It was a long drive from New York."

She nodded. "There's Granny's Bed and Breakfast. It's… well, the only hotel in town. You can't miss it."

Cruella nodded and drove off, leaving Snow shrugging in amusement at Charming.

She heard a shocked sound come from her daughter who had been standing by Regina at the sheriff's car. "Remind me again why my parents, two great heroes, are excited to see two horrible villains?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a long story," she said with a small sigh. "Let's go to Granny's so we can tell it over some hot cocoa."

"Um. Okay…" Emma's tone was one of suspicion, and Snow couldn't blame her. All she could do was give her daughter a small smile as she put Leo in his car seat and the small group made their way to the familiar diner.

"Okay. Our drinks are here. Let's get to it then," Emma said as they sat in the corner booth away from the ears of the other patrons.

Snow nodded and took a deep breath as she began to speak.

 _"Your daughter will end up being the Savior," Maleficent said after Snow woke up to find her husband under a temporary sleeping curse, the Mistress of All Evil (or… the former one) stood in front of her. "Which means… she'll be safe. I'm happy for you."_

 _"Why are you so invested in our child?" Snow whispered. "Why do you want to help us?"_

 _"Because mothers need to look out for one another."_

 _"You – you're a mother?" Snow gasped, eyes widening. Maleficent, a mother? It didn't make sense._

 _"Yes. I only gave birth two days ago. That's why we came to you to begin with," Maleficent replied. "And I want to protect my child from the horrors of the curse."_

 _Snow blinked in surprise. "What can I do to help you? I don't have magic. And this curse will be against me."_

 _"But you have excellent tracking skills and you know this forest like the back of your hands. You can help find a good spot for what needs to be done to protect my daughter."_

 _Snow's breath caught in her throat as she looked at Maleficent. She was friends with Regina – so could Snow truly trust her? But on the other hand, if there was a child in danger then… who was she to deny Maleficent the opportunity to protect her child?_

 _Exhaling slowly, Snow nodded slowly. "Okay Maleficent. We'll help you."_

 _"Thank you. Get some rest now. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."_

 _The next day, Snow and Charming met Maleficent, Ursula and Cruella outside the palace._

 _"Okay. So what sort of place are you looking for?" Snow asked Maleficent as they headed deeper into the forest._

 _"Somewhere private. A place Regina would never be able to find," Maleficent replied. "I know she's angry with me after I refused to give her the curse."_

 _"You had the curse? How did she manage to get it?"_

 _Maleficent looked down, shame written on her face as she focused on the cracking egg in her arms. "She overpowered me while I was at my most vulnerable. I was pregnant, my magic was going haywire… I couldn't defend myself against her."_

 _"That's horrible," Charming said. "We'll do whatever we can to help you then."_

 _"We know that, chisel-chin. That's why we called on you to begin with," Cruella snorted._

 _Snow rolled her eyes and looked at Charming. "What about the… farm?"_

 _"Mother's?"_

 _She nodded slowly. "It's far enough away... she doesn't know about it."_

 _Charming nodded. "Okay. My mother's farm it is."_

 _Maleficent waved her hands, and the group was magically transported to the farmhouse where Charming grew up._

 _"You're a farm boy?" Ursula asked as they looked around the crumbling cottage. "I never would have expected that."_

 _Charming shrugged. "We all come from somewhere, don't we? Doesn't matter if it's a farm or a palace."_

 _"What happened here?"_

 _"She was killed by George and Regina's army. They were trying to get to me. She got in the way of the arrow," Charming explained. "Now, what is it we have to do in order to get the baby to safety?"_

 _Maleficent smirked a little. "I stole this from Merlin's apprentice," she explained, holding out some sort of container. "Apparently it's supposed to be used to take the darkness out of one soul and put it into another… but I managed to modify it to simply take us to another land."_

 _"Which land?"_

 _"I dare not say. Just in case_ she _is listening in."_

 _Snow nodded. "Of course… I just hope that our own daughter is as safe as yours when the time comes."_

 _"With you two as parents? She stands all the chance in the world," Ursula replied. "Now we need to hurry up and go."_

 _"Right," Maleficent replied as she flicked her hand, the portal opening, and a puff of smoke whisking Snow and Charming back to their palace…_

"You helped Maleficent try to escape from the curse?" Emma gasped, staring at her parents with wide eyes. "Why? She cursed Aurora and Philip, and God only knows what else she did before that."

"Because she was a scared mother. Regardless of her past sins, how could I turn down the chance to help her? I was pregnant and scared for you. She was pregnant and scared for Lily."

"Lily?" Emma cut in, her eyes growing impossibly big.

Snow frowned. "What is it?"

But as soon as the look on Emma's face appeared, it was gone. "Nothing. Never mind. It's a common name…" she muttered.

"Are you sure?"

Emma nodded slightly. "But – wait. You said Maleficent was planning to go with her daughter, Cruella and Ursula. Then… why was she in the tunnel under the library the day I broke the curse?"

Snow's heart sank when the realization set in. "She never made it to safety with the baby. She was cursed just like us."

"And I killed her," Emma said, putting her head in her hands.

"Emma… you didn't know. But the question is… what happened after we were vanished away?" Charming put in, looking between

"Charming… I don't think it was Maleficent that sent us away."

"Then… who would have been able to – " Charming froze in the middle of his sentence when all three of them were struck with the same answer. Three pairs of eyes snapped to where Regina had been sitting…

Only to find an empty chair.

* * *

 _The Evil Queen snarled as she looked into the mirror, hurt and betrayal written into her face. How dare Maleficent work with that monster? How dare Maleficent try to escape from what Regina was planning. What a coward. What a_ fool _._

 _Well. Regina would show her. She would show all of them._

 _As Maleficent opened the portal, Regina carefully altered it, preventing Maleficent from being able to get through. Then of course there was Snow and Charming. But they too were easily taken care of with a flick of hand from Regina, back to their own palace. No way she would allow them to escape from what she planned._

 _Then, Mal and her little friends jumped, and only Ursula, Cruella, and the little baby disappeared to parts unknown._

 _Smirking, Regina watched as Maleficent collapsed to the ground, sobs wracking her body._

She let out a groan of pain as her eyes cracked open, realizing immediately she was not in Granny's anymore.

"Oh God… where – where am I?" she moaned, staring at her arm, which was wrapped in a bandage. "What the hell happened to me?"

"You don't recognize your own mine, Regina? I thought you knew all there was to know about Storybrooke."

She froze, staring up at the man who had spoken. Neal. The Dark One. Of course.

"Why am I here? Is this your evil lair, Neal? I think Henry would be disappointed that it doesn't look more… comic book-esque. Where are the computers that track the movements of everyone in town? Your evil escape helicopter?"

Neal laughed – a genuine laugh – as he shrugged. "This isn't my lair at all, Regina. But there's someone very important here who wants to see you again."

"What are you talking about? What did you do to me?"

"Hello Regina."

Regina froze, dark eyes hesitantly looking in the direction of the voice, her heart dropping into her stomach when she saw Maleficent standing very much alive.

"How are you alive?"

"Oh, that was easy enough. All I needed was the blood of the person that had given Maleficent the most pain, a little of this and a little of that and boom! Scary dragon bitch lives. I warned you, Regina. All the secrets the villains have kept are going to come out so long as I'm the Dark One."

Regina glared. "How did you know what happened between us?"

"There are books dictating every last detail of the history of the residents of this town. Did you think Henry's was the only one?" Neal asked with a slight laugh. "We're all stories here, Regina. Therefore, the books are here."

"Regardless of how he knows what transpired between us, I thank him for bringing me back. Now you tell me one thing. Where is my daughter?"

Regina shook her head. "I don't know."

Maleficent growled, her voice low and dangerous. "If I find that something has happened to her, I promise you Regina, I will kill you."

With that, Maleficent vanished from the mine, leaving Regina and Neal alone.

"Do you really love him?" she asked quietly.

"Hm? Who?" Neal asked with a frown.

"Henry. Do you love him?"

Neal's eyes softened behind the darkness. "Of course I do. I'm not _that_ much of a monster."

"If you loved him, why are you doing this to me? Even your father could control himself unless people were making deals with him to lead him to you. What is your endgame here?"

Neal tilted his head, and Regina could see something – was it his normal self coming through? Or something else? – in his eyes.

"Who says I'm totally in control of my actions?" Neal whispered, and Regina realized as he vanished in a cloud of black smoke that it had been _fear_ she'd seen in his dark eyes.

In Henry's eyes.

She needed to get to Emma and Rumplestiltskin, and she needed to do it fast.


	4. Chapter 4

"Gold? Where are you?" Regina called as she rushed into the pawn shop. "We need to talk. Now."

She could hear the heavy sigh as he came out from the back room, Belle following close behind. "What do you want, Regina?"

"It's about your son. He brought back Maleficent," she replied, the not-quite completely healed scar visible to his eye. "And used my blood to do it. But that's not what I'm here to tell you."

"Good, because Maleficent has already come by here. What are you here to tell me?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

She looked nervously over her shoulder and leaned in to them. "I think he's being controlled by someone. I asked him what his end game was – you know, like yours was to get back to him… and he asked me why I thought he was totally in control of his actions. You should have seen his face. He looked almost scared."

Rumplestiltskin frowned, fear and anger on his face. "Someone is controlling my son?"

Regina nodded slowly. "I believe so."

A growl escaped the former Dark One. "Then I need to find out who did it and why."

He said nothing more as he turned, heading back into the back room, leaving she and Belle alone.

"Is there anyone that you can think of that hates both of you that would be willing to control Neal like that?" Belle asked. "It might help Rumple pin down whoever did this."

Biting her lip, Regina closed her eyes, trying to think. "I'm sure there are many people that he and I had met throughout the years that we have wronged. People who would want to be against both of us. But that's the problem – Neal isn't _just_ targeting me. He's threatened the secrets of every villain in this town, so whoever it is has to be someone who hates villains."

"Well, that's completely unhelpful."

She barely concealed the urge to roll her eyes. "I don't know who could do such a thing. Who close to us would know about Neal or want to control him? And why would they want to do such a thing if they knew it would hurt Henry?"

Belle closed her eyes, thinking. "Maybe it's not someone we know. Maybe it's someone else that came in with the second curse. Like Zelena, Aurora, Philip and Mulan did. Someone who has been biding their time since then."

"But why strike now?" Regina questioned.

"That's what we have to figure out. I'll call Will and Anastasia and Snow and David and have them meet us at the library. You should call Emma. Let her know what's going on with Neal."

Regina nodded, quickly pulling out her cell phone as she and Belle rushed out of the shop. God, she thought when her sister was defeated that life would finally calm down. But it didn't seem like that would ever be the case.

"Okay. So what do we do?" Anastasia asked, leaning against one of the library tables. "What are we looking for?"

"When we came back here after the second curse, Snow had everyone that was new fill out forms so we knew what was going on and who was in town. Granny also gave me a list of residents in the bed and breakfast. If we go through them, maybe we can find a name that could link up with a potential villain who could have an issue with the Dark One. I know it could take a while… which is why Belle asked all of you here," Regina said with a sigh. "The more hands and eyes the better."

Snow exhaled, bouncing little Leo in her arms as he began to fuss, sensing the tension in the room. "I hope this works, Regina. We need to stop this before it gets worse. People are starting to talk. I'm afraid they're going to start going after each other – or the villains in town – without provocation."

Regina understood immediately that she meant there was a chance she could be in the danger zone, and she wasn't exactly surprised to hear it. Though things had, for the most part, calmed down in terms of people viewing her as the Evil Queen, with the second round of the curse meant more people that she'd hurt in the past. More people that could be angry with her.

More people that could want to _hurt_ her.

Anastasia shivered. "That's a fair point."

With that bit of worry in the room, the group sat down and began combing through the records.

The amount of silence in the room was unbearable, and so when someone finally spoke up, relief flooded the mayor.

"Princess Jasmine? Agrabah had Jafar, didn't they?" Belle suggested as she pointed to a name on the registry.

"Unless Jafar managed to get out of the genie lamp in Wonderland, I don't it's him controlling Neal," Will said. "He came to Wonderland after he was stopped in Agrabah. Alice managed to outwit him."

Anastasia nodded, shivering a little."It wouldn't be possible for him to escape. Not with Nyx guarding his lamp."

Regina couldn't help but wonder what the story behind that was.

"Okay… let's keep looking then," Snow said with a sigh, before grimacing as Leo began to fuss. "Oh – as soon as I change someone."

"Hey," Will joked as Snow stood to head to the bathroom. "Better him than you."

"Will, that's disgusting," Anastasia replied as she wrinkled her nose, pulling out a new file to look at.

A knock on the door startled the small group from their thoughts, and without warning, Mulan and Ruby came stumbling through, breathing heavily with wide eyes. Mulan had her sword pointed at the closed doors, tense.

"Ruby, Mulan! What's the matter?" Belle gasped, shooting out of her seat.

"Take a look out the window," the warrior replied. "We've never seen anything like it."

Everyone jumped out of their seats and ran to the window, staring out at the _thing_ that was hanging over the town.

"Oh Neal, what did you do?" David whispered.

* * *

She didn't know where Neal was. The small group of their closest friends and family that had scattered around the town in an attempt to find him had come back with nothing. Emma wasn't sure what she and Regina would be able to tell Henry. She glanced wearily at the clock, noting the three o'clock hour. Henry would be getting out of school soon, and he'd been hoping that she would have news about Neal, but she didn't.

The phone ringing was a relief, really, giving her a distraction from her thoughts.

"Sheriff's office," Emma greeted, lifting the phone to her ear. She could hear the tell-tale sound of chaos in the background and sighed, hoping it didn't mean Neal was out causing trouble.

"S-sheriff Swan… t-this is Mr. Krzyszkowski. Please help me. There's a crazy woman here trying to break into my files! Sh-she's got magic. Please hurry!"

The line went dead as Emma reached for her car keys. She swiftly hung up the phone and ran out of the station, speeding to the offices. She didn't see an signs of damage outside – that was a good thing. Hand on her gun, she slowly made her way inside.

"Police! Put your hands up!" she shouted when she spotted the scattered papers and broken furniture in the wake of the woman that was in the room. She must have been the reason Emma had been called.

Instead, the woman whirled, staring at her with an intensity Emma had never seen on anyone. "Not until I find my daughter."

"Okay – it's okay… just calm down. I can help you find her. Who are you? What is her name?" Not that Emma didn't have a feeling she knew who the woman was.

"I am Maleficent. Her name is Lily. Now help me find her, since you are the one that killed me in that mine."

Of course.

Emma nodded. "Yeah… sorry about that. I needed to save my son and I thought that egg would help me. But let me make it up to you and help you find your daughter."

"Very well."

With a wave of her hand, Maleficent set everything that had been broken straight again, and made her way outside.

Emma looked over at the office manager that had called the station. "Mr. Krzyszkowski, are you okay?"

The man, still looking shaken, nodded. "Yes. Thank you Sheriff Swan. You'd better go before she destroys your car… or something else."

Emma nodded and hurried out the door, going over to the dragon who was standing by her car. "Okay Maleficent. Tell me what you know about your daughter. Does she have any identifying marks? I know the last time you saw her she was an infant but – "

"Her wrist. She has a star birthmark on her wrist. She was born under the first clear night of Spring. The birthmark reflects that."

Her grip tightened against her keys as she opened the passenger door for Maleficent to get in. It _was_ the same Lily.

She took a deep breath as she walked around to the other side of the car and got in. "A star? Maleficent… I know exactly who your daughter is."

Maleficent's eyes widened. "You do? Where is she? Is she here in this town?"

Emma shook her head. "I… I haven't seen her since I was sixteen. But I'd recognize her if I saw a picture of her. Maybe she's in a newspaper somewhere. I'll take you back to the sheriff's station so I can look on my computer."

"I don't know what any of that means. But I appreciate your help," Maleficent said, wincing as they went over a pot hole. "Although I'm not so sure I like this carriage."

"Sorry. Regina will have to get that hole fixed," Emma replied, pulling up to the station and getting out of the car. "Come on. The computer is inside."

She sat down with a heavy sigh, pulling up some of the websites she'd used for her old job.

"So I'll just type in the information we know about her and… here we go. Looks like she's living in Massachusetts," Emma said, turning to Maleficent with a smile.

But instead of the dragon smiling, she found the woman standing at the window with a look of alarm on her face as she gazed outside.

"Sheriff Swan… is that normal in this world?" she asked.

Emma quickly joined her, feeling the color drain from her face.

"No," Emma said, already reaching for her phone, although she was certain her parents had already seen the massive thing in the sky.

A giant airship was slowly making its way through the air, heading toward the woods.

"You want to help me figure this out?" she asked the dragon.

"I can do you better. I'll fly up there and see who's inside it," Maleficent said, already making her way out the door.

"Uh – okay," Emma said, looking up into the sky as she put the phone to her ear as it rang. "Regina? Yeah I see it. It's going toward the woods in the direction of your sister's old farmhouse. Maleficent is going to see who's inside it. No – tell my mom to go home with the baby. We have Maleficent to help find them. I'll meet you there."

"You're leaving town, huh?" a voice said from behind her.

She could only exhale as she turned to face Neal.

"I am tomorrow. I'm going to find Maleficent's daughter," she said. "I presume the giant ship in the sky is your doing?"

"That's good. You'll be reuniting a mother and daughter that were unfairly ripped apart… like your family was," Neal said, following her gaze into the sky and sighing. "Yeah. That was my magic."

"Who's in it?"

"I can't say. I'm bound not to say anything about it," Neal replied. Emma could see the desperation in his face. She knew he wouldn't keep this secret. Not from her.

"What is your endgame here?" she asked. "All this is doing is hurting Henry."

"I don't want to hurt Henry. But _he_ doesn't care about Henry so I have to do these things. Please Emma. I don't know how much more I can take of this. Find the dagger. When you do it'll be a start… but I know you can save me."

With that, he vanished before she could stop him.

"Neal…" she whispered into the Storybrooke streets as a crowd gathered to gossip about the sky ship. "I'll find you. I'll always find you."

She looked up into the sky and spotted Maleficent slowly circling around an area. The ship must have landed. Letting out a sigh, Emma ran off in the direction of the dragon.

"Let's see what hell the Dark One has wrought this time," she murmured to herself.

She could hear the panic before she saw anything. The cries of scared children, the shouts of angry men, and a chorus of nervous voices.

"HEY! EVERYONE PLEASE CALM DOWN!" she shouted. She couldn't exactly see how many people were there, but it seemed like a lot. "IS ANYONE HURT?!"

A hand went up immediately. "Please help! It's my daughter! She's badly injured!" a man called as Emma ran over to the pair, spotting the injured woman laying in the man's arms.

She looked awful, cuts and scrapes on all areas of her body, including a nasty looking gash on her head.

"What's her name? I'll get her to the hospital," Emma asked.

"Your car will take too long," Regina replied, running up behind her. "I'll take her. You take her father."

Emma nodded, realizing just how bad the woman was injured, and stepped aside as Regina gently took the woman into her arms and vanished with her.

"What's your daughter's name?" Emma asked. "Where are you people from?"

"Her name is Mary – Mary Lydgate. We're from a realm called the Land of Untold Stories."


	5. Chapter 5

Neal was shaking as he paced back and forth in the dark cavern. He was a monster. Everything he hated was staring right back at him and he couldn't do anything to stop it. He'd ruined Hook's reputation (and of course, while Neal had wanted the truth to come out, he hadn't wanted it to happen like _this_ ) and he was destroying God only knew how many more with the introduction of these people from another world.

He was a puppet on a string, nothing more, nothing less. Just like his father had been… only at least his father had been in control of his own dagger for the most part. Neal had to deal with not one, but two psychopaths who were using him for a game not even the Dark One understood.

"See Bae? Didn't I tell you that the power was better than anything you could dream of?"

Then, of course, there was the image of his father that was stuck in his head along with the memories of every other Dark One to exist. But his father's image was the one that bothered him the most out of them all.

"Be quiet," he whispered at the wall of key chains that hung in front of him, ignoring the phantom at his side. "Just be quiet."

"Is that any way to talk to your father?"

"You're not my father!" he shouted, throwing the key chain in his hand at the… whatever it was. But of course, the key chain harmlessly sailed right through it and clattered to the ground as he turned to face the phantom. "You are not my father and you never will be!"

"Oh dearie, dearie, dearie… I _am_ your father. I'm who he has always been. And who he would still be had your grandfather not been an issue."

"I SAID BE QUIET!" Neal shouted, a burst of magic escaping his hands and shooting directly through the phantom, blowing a hole in the wall opposite him.

"Now now Dark One, there's no need to be so violent…" the deep, smooth voice of the man controlling him hummed as his footsteps came closer to the room he was in.

God, it was the darker one. Although, Neal wasn't sure he could say the other one was a light one considering he too was getting some sort of sick thrill out of controlling Neal the way he was. Neal desperately wanted to know why the hell they had an issue with his father.

Regardless, both of them were obnoxious, and more clever than any of the villains they'd dealt with before (Neal knew even someone like Cora would be filled with envy over how clever these men were).

"What the hell do you want now?" Neal asked. "I did what you said. Your people are here. Now let me go."

"That is not how this works, Dark One… I'm not leader of this town yet, and I need your help to get me there."

God, what was it with villains and wanting to take control of Storybrooke? It was just a small town in America. Yes it was filled with magical beings but still, Neal didn't understand why they all needed to take it over.

"Why should I help you?" Neal asked.

A dark chuckle escaped the man as he held out the dagger. "Because you don't have a _choice_. Now Dark One, come along. I have much to prepare before the morning."

And, like a dog on a leash, Neal followed, the swan key chain laying on the ground, forgotten.

* * *

"The Land of Untold Stories?" Rumplestiltskin asked, frowning at Emma as she stood in his shop that night after managing to herd the people in the airship to the town hall. "Are you certain that's where he said?"

Emma nodded, leaning against the counter. "I've never heard of anything like that before. I mean… Wonderland, Oz, yes. The Enchanted Forest, yes, but _that_ …"

"No, I don't expect you would have…" the man replied, pulling out a key from one of the glass cases. "Only people that have a key like this one know of such a realm. It is a place where time stands still – not unlike Storybrooke had been during the curse. All the stories pause. It's like a safe haven for people who are going through a rough time."

"So if you're dying and you go into that world…"

"Your death would cease. You would be fine until you went back into a world where time moved… like crash-landing here. And then, the thing that had stopped killing you would start back up," Rumplestiltskin explained. "Which is what I expect happened to the girl that was critically injured when they arrived. Where are the rest of our visitors?"

"Regina set them up with cots at the town hall. We figured we'll let them rest for the night and then we'll go from there tomorrow."

He didn't seemed impressed. "And do you have any guards set up?"

"Ruby, Mulan and the dwarfs."

Again, the shopkeeper's face remained unimpressed. "I suppose I'll go set up some barriers to provide further protection for them. Would you like to join me? The more hands the better, and I feel like it's not safe for Regina to be out at night."

Emma blinked in surprise. She'd never done anything like that before. Hell, she didn't even know if she could. "What? You want my help is setting up a magical barrier?"

"Well… yes. You are magical, are you not? And you're powerful. Remember what you did in Neverland?"

How could she forget working with Neal and Regina to save their son? It seemed like a lifetime ago that she and Regina had literally moved heaven and earth in order to get into Skull Island. A barely-repressed shiver went through her as she nodded slowly in agreement. If it meant protecting the people that had crash-landed in Storybrooke, she would do it.

"Okay. Let's do it."

They drove in silence down the dark Storybrooke streets, Emma at the wheel of the cruiser. She wondered where Neal was now, or what the man controlling him was planning.

"Do you have any idea who could be holding him hostage?" Emma asked quietly, having a feeling that he did. He knew about this Land of Untold Stories, so he must have had some sort of idea of who would be involved in that and want to control the Dark One.

"I do," he replied. "But I am not comfortable saying such thing out loud until we're somewhere where ears can't pry."

She nodded slowly in understanding. She wasn't sure what exactly was happening in Storybrooke, but she did know that whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

 _Especially_ if Rumplestiltskin was worried. Emma knew from experience that if Rumplestiltskin was worried about something – it was bad.

"I probably should have started with this but… why did Maleficent and Anastasia not stay and put up a barrier?" Rumplestiltskin asked.

Emma shrugged. "Well, Maleficent's powers still haven't fully come back to where they were and she was exhausted after going into her dragon form and Anastasia sort of… disappeared after we'd huddled everyone back to town. It was weird."

Rumplestiltskin didn't seem to find it odd though. "Perhaps the people from the Land of Untold Stories aren't the only ones that don't want their stories told…" Rumplestiltskin mused. "Everyone has secrets, Miss Swan. And sometimes those secrets aren't let out until you don't have a say in the situation."

"Believe me," Emma said as they arrived in front of the town hall. "I know."

The only light visible was the occasional bob of a flashlight held by one of the guards that had been posted at the building. It was quiet, and Emma was unnerved. If Neal was being controlled by someone, there was no telling what time of day he could strike.

"Are you ready, Miss Swan?" Rumplestiltskin asked, holding his hands toward the building, magic slowly wrapping around it like mist around a tree.

She took a deep breath as she nodded. "Yes. I'm ready."

"Okay. Now this might be a bit difficult but I want you to focus on that feeling you get when someone you care about is in danger – that urge to protect and defend them. The same urge you had in Neverland when it came to Henry."

She closed her eyes, holding out both hands and let herself feel. She let herself feel the urge to protect Henry, to protect Neal when she'd found out what happened to him. To protect her parents and brother from whatever it was Neal's controller was planning.

And then slowly, she let those emotions overflow, the magic shooting out of her fingertips and racing toward the building, joining Rumplestiltskin's in surrounding the building. Emma opened her eyes, letting the emotions stay strong as she watched it with amazement. She was doing this. She was really doing it.

No one would harm her family. Not today, or any other day. Not while she was still alive.

"Very good Miss Swan," Rumplestiltskin said, dropping his hand. "I think that should be sufficient. Now… I suggest we both go home and get some rest. I have a feeling tomorrow will be… quite eventful."

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a bewildered Emma to drive home by herself.

"Emma… how did everything go with Gold?" her mother asked as she laid little Leo down in his cot.

She could only shrug as she sat down on the couch. "Cryptic as always. But we did manage to put the town hall under protection spells so it wasn't a complete loss. I'm just nervous for what tomorrow is going to hold," she sighed.

"Well," her mother said. "That's something we're going to find out, won't we?"

 _That's exactly what I'm afraid of_ Emma thought, getting up off the couch and going upstairs to her bedroom.

"Don't be nervous," her mother said the next morning as the group stood outside the town hall doors. "You'll be great Regina. Just pretend they're us."

Regina didn't look so convinced, but managed a small nod as they pushed the doors open and strode to the front of the room. To be honest, Emma wasn't so convinced either. The previous night had come and gone without any of them getting a phone call or text that something was going wrong. It seemed too easy.

In the light, Emma could see the people bewildered and frightened, many of them looking like caged animals that were caught by animal control, and she was nervous as she stood with her parents, Ruby and Mulan in front of the stage.

"Good morning, everyone," Regina called, standing on the stage and trying to get everyone's attention. "I know that this is all a lot to take in so I'm going to start with myself. I'm Regina. I am the town's mayor, and I am delighted to welcome you to Storybrooke."

That's when Emma noticed a man beginning to make his way to the stage.

"IT'S THE EVIL QUEEN! EVERYONE OUT OF THE WAY!" he shouted, drawing a sword out of the hilt on his side.

Mulan leapt into action, drawing her own sword as Emma held out a hand to stop him from going any further.

When Emma looked over to look at Regina, the woman had vanished in a cloud of purple smoke.

"Regina…" she murmured as the last remnants of the purple smoke disappeared. Oh boy. This must have been what Rumplestiltskin had been talking about when he mentioned the past coming back to haunt them.

"Edmond!" her father exclaimed as he walked up to the man being restrained by Mulan. "What are you doing?"

The man was seemingly calmed by Regina's disappearance. "The Evil Queen. She lied to me. She promised me the names of the people who killed my fiancée if I did what she wanted. And I did. And she abandoned that promise and poisoned Charlotte, your handmaiden! The girl I fell in love with! It was fine when we went to the Land of Untold Stories but now she's dying in the hospital right now!" he shouted. "Your majesties… how can you be okay with her here? After everything she did to you…"

Her mother took a deep breath as she made her way over to the man. "Edmond, please, if you'll just hear us out we can explain everything," she said. "I promise you. Just please… calm down."

Edmond nodded, relenting as he looked at her parents. "Fine. I'll give you a chance."

Emma frowned as she followed her parents up to the stage. "Who was that guy?" she whispered to her father.

"Edmond. He's also known as the Count of Monte Cristo. He worked for us in our castle, but apparently there's more to the story than we were originally told… Charlotte was your mother's handmaiden. She and Edmond both left suddenly. We had no idea why," he replied.

"Um…" her mother called out to the crowd. "Good morning. I am Snow White, and this is my husband Prince David and my daughter Emma. She is the sheriff of Storybrooke. I know it is frightening to be here right now, but please, you are safe here. We promise not to let any harm come to you while you are here."

Emma looked out into the crowd, seeing the worried faces of the people looking at her mother for guidance.

"We have already spoken to the restaurant owners in town. They will all be collaborating together to provide you with food, which is being set up outside right now actually. And the bed and breakfast will be providing rooms for you all. I know this is not what you all wanted, but I promise, Storybrooke can be a fresh start for you as it has been for many of its citizens."

That seemed to perk some of the people up, and a few of them began murmuring in excitement, smiles crossing their faces, and Emma mentally let out a sigh of relief.

"I will take it upon myself to go to the hospital and get updates on those that were injured. If you have a family member at the hospital, please speak to me so I can get their names," Emma called out. "But I promise, Storybrooke's medical professionals are excellent at their jobs and will work their hardest to heal those that have been hurt."

Emma knew she didn't have much time to waste here – she had promised Maleficent that she would go looking for her daughter today, so she'd have to be quick about this hospital thing.

When no one had any questions, Emma stood next to a table on the stage, taking the name of the injured down on a piece of paper and quickly followed the crowd outside, hurrying to the hospital.

"Hey Aurora," she said, going up to the front desk and smiling at the princess on the other side. "Do you have any information on these patients yet?" She slid the list of names over to the woman, nervously tapping her fingers against the desk.

"Oh, let me see…" Aurora's fingers glided across the keyboard like she'd been working on a computer her entire life. "Mary Lydgate is out of surgery and is doing well. Charlotte No Last Name is still unconscious, but Dr. Whale said that he thinks she'll make a full recovery. It's just a waiting game. And Captain Nemo's still in surgery to repair something in his leg," she told Emma. "Raoul de Chagny is getting ready to be discharged now. Do you think you could get him back to the Town Hall?"

"Yeah, of course. His wife is very worried about him anyway so no problem," Emma said with a smile. "Thanks Aurora. I'm sure everyone'll be happy to know the updates."

She wasn't super thrilled about having to wait for someone, but it was better than just having them wander around the town without any knowledge of where they were going. She'd be a terrible sheriff if she did that.

"Thank you for helping me get back to my wife," the man said as Emma pulled out of the hospital parking lot. "That hospital was much nicer than the ones at home. And these carriages are so fast!"

"Thank you. Do you have any idea why anyone would want to bring you here?" Emma asked curiously.

"Oh… one can never know what goes on in the mind of Mr. Hyde," the man said with a sigh. "We tried to avoid him whenever we could. He was dangerous. Very dangerous. And now we're here…" the man shivered, continuing on but Emma had stopped paying attention at the word _Hyde_.

Raoul de Chagny practically flew out of the car as Emma put it in park, running for his wife, which made Emma smile. At least some good was coming out of this, she thought as the family and friends of the injured came up to her to get the details of their loved one.

"Excuse me, Sheriff?" a voice asked as she'd turned back to her car to start heading out to find Lily. Emma turned to find a shorter man with round glasses standing behind her. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I was hoping to inquire about an injured person."

Emma nodded. "Oh, sure. I'm sorry, I didn't see you with the others."

The man winced. "Yes well… her father isn't exactly a fan of us being together so I thought it best to wait until he was out of my line of sight to come up to you," he explained, fidgeting with his hands nervously.

She was on guard immediately, giving the man a slight nod. "Sure. What was her name?"

"Lydgate. Mary Lydgate."

"Oh," Emma smiled. "She's going to be just fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I really need to get out of here. I'm late for a meeting. I'm glad I could help you Mr…"

"Henry. Call me Henry please. Thank you for telling me about Mary. It means a lot to me Sheriff Swan," the man replied.

Emma nodded as she got into her car. "Nice to meet you Henry."

As the man turned to walk away, she pulled out her phone and found Ruby's number.

 _There's a short guy in glasses named Henry that I want you to keep an eye on. I don't know why, but I just got a bad feeling about him when I met him._

Then, she found Rumplestiltskin's.

 _I think Mr. Hyde is the one controlling Neal._

With that done, Emma exhaled slowly as she drove toward the Town Line. With her parents, Rumplestiltskin, Regina, Anastasia, and so many other strong fighters in the town, she had faith that the town would at least still be standing when she got back.

But still, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong with the man she'd met just before she left.

In her rearview mirror, she saw Neal standing by a tree just as she crossed the border into the world outside Storybrooke.


	6. Chapter 6

Emma knew she should have been eating something that was a bit better for her than a bear claw for lunch, but being back in the groove of finding missing people had made her go back into her old eating habits.

Chuckling, she couldn't help but think about what her parents would say if they saw her eating this for lunch. They'd be more gentle about the fact that she was eating crap.

Then there would be Regina with an annoyed, yet amused _"can't you at least order a grilled cheese or something? Honestly."_ And then of course, she'd tell Henry to actually order food and not a donut.

Finally Neal ( _her_ Neal, not the Dark One that was running around town tormenting everyone) would simply laugh at all of them and shrug, joining her in having a donut (his would be jelly filled of course) for lunch because that was just what they did. It was what they'd had to do when they were on the streets. Donuts were cheap. They were broke. It was that simple.

Neal. Oh Neal. She hated this. Neal didn't deserve it. No one deserved to have the Dark One's curse imposed on them, but especially not someone like Neal. Someone who had dedicated their life to avoiding darkness and running from it was forced to carry the world's darkness inside him.

It made Emma sick, and she clutched the bear claw tighter in her fist, feeling the sticky frosting and soft pasty dig under her nails as she looked down at the information she'd managed to find on Lily. She worked at an office in town and came here quite often for lunch. Emma hadn't been able to get in to see her, so she was banking on Lily coming here.

The sudden ringing of her phone snapped her out of her thoughts, and she swiftly lifted it to her ear, finding her son on the other line.

"Hey kid. Everything okay?"

 _"Yeah, everything's fine. I just wanted to see how your search for Lily was going,"_ Henry replied. _"So… how is it?"_

"Slower than I'd like it to but I'm hoping I'll be able to find her soon," she replied. "What have you been up to? Have your mom or Hook come out of hiding yet?"

 _"Gramps said Hook tried early this morning, but he ran into a former Lost Boy with a grudge who'd managed to find a posse of people with issues with Hook."_

"A posse? _Really_?" She could have laughed at the irony that out of all the things in Henry's sentence, the word "posse" was the thing she took issue with.

Henry laughed on the other end. _"Whatever. You know what I mean. But I haven't seen mom at all. But she's been sending me letters so that's better than nothing."_

She frowned, wiping her other hand off on a napkin. "Wow. I'm sorry to hear that kid. I'm sure she's missing you a lot."

 _"Yeah, I know. But this will blow over soon,"_ the familiar hope was in his voice, and Emma could practically see the smile on his face.

"We can only hope, kid," she said, looking up as the bell over the door chimed, feeling her eyes widen when she noticed who had walked in. "Henry, I gotta go. I'll call you later."

 _"Okay. I love you mom."_

"Love you too kid."

Emma ended the call and stood, going over to the black haired woman. "Lily. It's been a while."

She could see tension build in the woman's shoulders as she slowly turned around. "Emma. How did you find me?"

"Your mom sent me to find you," Emma said with a small frown. "And as for how, well, I have my methods of finding people."

Lily blinked, stepping out of the line. "My mom? Don't you mean moms? And I talked to them a week ago. I don't know why they'd need you to find me. They know exactly where I live."

 _Moms_? Okay so Cruella de Vil was in a relationship with Ursula. Right. Just another thing that her brain was going to have to reconcile when she got a moment to breathe.

"I don't mean them, Lily. I mean your birth mom," Emma said. "Your birth mom is looking for you."

That had Lily pausing, looking at her seriously. "Oh. So Maleficent finally wants to talk to me?"

It was Emma's turn to blink in surprise. "You know?"

The other woman sighed and pulled out her phone, holding up a finger for Emma to be quiet. "Hi, Ken? It's Lily. Listen, I have a family emergency I have to take care of so I'm clocking out for the day. Thanks." With that done, Lily turned to Emma again. "Yeah. I've known my whole life that you're the Savior. I meant to tell you when we were together but you stormed off when you found out I had a family that I didn't have time."

"And odds are I wouldn't have believed you," she replied with a sigh. "Come on. We should talk about why your birth mom took so long to call."

"You _killed_ her?!" Lily asked in a harsh whisper, leaning toward Emma with wide eyes. "What the hell, Emma?"

"I didn't know! Not at that point! At that point she was a fire-breathing dragon who had what I thought was my dying son's only hope!" Emma shot back, holding up her hands in defeat. "But she's alive now because of Neal."

"Neal. Your, what, husband?"

Emma froze, feeling some heat beginning to creep onto her cheeks. "Uh. It's hard to explain. He's my son's father. My… ex." But she did love him. She'd admitted it to him before he was presumed dead, to her parents, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to leap into another life with him.

Lily frowned. "Oh. I see. But you think there's hope for a reconciliation?"

Emma hesitated. She hated that even after all this time, Lily seemed to be able to read her like a book. "I don't know. He's… well he's turned into something called the Dark One. He's the epitome of darkness now. So I don't know if it's possible."

"Oh. That sounds horrible. Um. But he brought back my birth mom so he can't be that bad… right?" Lily asked, looking uncomfortable with the topic.

"I don't know. But anyway… she does want to see you. Come back to Storybrooke with me, please."

Lily gave her a smile. "What took you so long to ask?"

Emma grabbed her keys and rose from her seat. "Let's get your bags packed and go then."

If they were lucky, they could make it back to Storybrooke before anything else happened.

* * *

"Ana, come on. Regina and Rumple need your help to protect the town. And really I might need your help to protect the town from Rumple…" Belle called, knocking on the door to Ana and Will's apartment with a frown. The moment Rumple had gotten the text from Emma about who was controlling Neal, he'd been livid and on edge, having locked himself in the basement of their home. She couldn't tell what he was doing, nor did he tell her, but she was relieved she'd managed to coax him out to sleep and eat.

And then there was Regina, who hadn't shown her face in public since the night before when she'd nearly been attacked by the man at the town hall meeting.

Belle was worried. With Emma out of town, it was all hands on deck to make sure nothing happened while she was gone. She and the others knew that they couldn't rely on Emma for everything. After all, they were heroes before Emma had come to town. They knew how to protect themselves.

"Anastasia, _please_ ," Belle called again, knocking louder against the smooth wood of the door.

Finally, Will pulled the door open, quickly slipping into the hallway with Belle. "Hey… sorry we weren't there last night to help get everyone settled. Hope everything went okay."

"Will, where's Ana?" She didn't know why there was a sense of dread beginning to form in the pit of her stomach, but she didn't like it.

Will scratched at the back of his neck nervously. "It's… sort of a long story. See… Ana's mum isn't exactly a fan of mine and we sort of… _accidentally_ … knocked her and Drizella into the Land of Untold Stories as we were escaping to Wonderland."

She frowned. That couldn't be right. "Snow told me that Ella lived with her stepmother and two stepsisters during the curse. Like her story says she did before the ball."

"Aye…" Will muttered. "She did. But they were castle servants that she lived with during the curse. Thomas told me that. Ana was in Wonderland, and her mother and sister were in the Land of Untold Stories. But now that those people are in Storybrooke, Ana's scared. She's not very good at confrontation and her mother is scarier than Regina, Cora, and Zelena all put together into one super-witch. And Lady Tremaine doesn't even have magic."

Belle huffed, feeling her nostrils flare. "Then that's all the more reason why she has to confront her mother. Ella could be in danger now that Lady Tremaine is here!" she told him, making a mental note to alert Snow to that little detail as soon as she could. Since Lady Tremaine didn't have magic, Snow would be the perfect person to watch out for Ella, especially since they had been friends in the Enchanted Forest.

"I know," Will groaned, "we're not exactly used to this being heroes thing yet."

The librarian exhaled slowly through her nose as she looked at him. "That doesn't mean you just give up when something terrifying comes along."

"You don't know her mother…" Will tried.

"So you're going to be a coward then?" Belle asked, knowing how much power the word could hold over people. "After everything you both went through, you're going to choose the cowardly way out?"

Will sighed and opened the door. "Come in."

Belle gave him a triumphant smile as she stepped into the apartment, finding Anastasia laying on the sofa in an oversized hoodie and sweatpants, looking very un-Anastasia like.

"Anastasia – " she started with a sigh, before the woman sat up and looked at her.

"Do you know what it's like to have a mother like her, Belle?" Anastasia said. "Do you know what it's like to listen to her day in and day out about how you're so perfect, so beautiful, so talented, and then when someone else gets the glory you were raised to do, to suddenly hear how stupid and worthless you are? To constantly have your dreams shattered because you need to marry a prince, or a duke?"

"I don't. But she doesn't hold the power anymore, Anastasia. You do. Look at you! You were a queen. You have magic! You have friends! You have more than anything she could ever understand. Because she will never understand what it's like to be _good_."

Anastasia swallows tight, biting her lip. Belle could see the conflict in her eyes.

"What do you say?"

"Okay. What do I need to do?"

Belle smiled in relief. "Well, the hospital could use a protective barrier around it, just in case. And then I'd go see David. He might have something else for you to do."

Anastasia nodded. "Okay. I'll be down there in ten minutes. And Belle?"

Belle turned back around, having started making her way to the door. "Yeah, Ana?"

"Thank you. That's… that's exactly what I needed to hear."

She smiled. "You're welcome. I'll see you later guys," she said, waving as she left the apartment, feeling relieved that she managed to get Anastasia to come out of hiding. The last thing Storybrooke needed was for three of its most powerful witches to be in hiding or out of town for the foreseeable future.

Unless that was _exactly_ what Hyde wanted.

Regina and Anastasia hiding, Emma out of town, Rumple and Maleficent too focused on their children to focus on the town… she wasn't sure how powerful Ursula or Cruella was but regardless, they weren't exactly the noble sort, unless they too had undergone a massive change during their time in the Land Without Magic.

"Oh no," Belle whispered to herself, pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialing Snow's number as she swiftly made her way back to the library. "Snow? It's Belle. Meet me at the library. It's important."

Snow and Charming stared at her with wide eyes as they sat in the library only moments later after she'd told them about the conversation with Anastasia and Will.

"It's a near-perfect plan," Charming said. "But now we're on to him and we can stop him."

"How? He has Neal under his control."

"We find the dagger and get Neal on our side," Charming said, as if it was as easy to find the Dark One's dagger as it was to pick up a loaf of bread at the store.

Belle frowned. "How? We don't know where he's keeping it." And if it was kept on Hyde's person, well, that caused a bigger problem.

Charming didn't seem deterred. "Neal is part of our family. We owe it to him to try to find it, no matter how daunting it feels. So what do we know about Hyde's story?"

"He's a scientist. He and Dr. Jekyll," Belle said with a frown. "Actually, Jekyll is the one that created the potion that caused Hyde to form."

Snow's eyes widened as she bounced Leo on her lap. "I… have noticed a bit of a pattern."

"What is it?" Belle asked.

The woman's green eyes darted nervously around the room as if looking for Hyde to pop out of nowhere before she finally spoke. "Well... I've noticed that the – for lack of a better word – bad things seem to happen around the time when the sun goes down. The airship crashing, Neal's revelation, Maleficent's revival… it all happened when it was getting close to nightfall."

Belle stared, before nodding in agreement. "You're right Snow. That's exactly what's happened so far. Which means… who know what he could be planning for tonight."

Charming looked at his watch and gasped. "It's four o'clock. The sun is going to set soon."

Snow stood quickly, handing Leo over to Charming. "I'm going to find Regina. We're going to need all hands we can get to protect the town tonight."

Belle nodded. "I'll go see if Rumple has anything ready to help us protect the town." He'd sent her the Pandora's Box when he'd been in Neverland. Surely there was something else he had up his sleeve that non-magic users could use.

With a last worried glance between the three, they went their separate ways.

* * *

"I still don't know how you could manage to stay on this boat for so long," Regina said, drumming her fingers against the wooden table in boredom as she looked at the captain, who was nursing a black eye with a bag of frozen peas Regina had conjured up from her freezer. The gentle rocking of the ship had made her nauseous at the start, but she'd grown used to it.

Hook only let out a small chuckle. "Well, in times like these, I'd use the ship to make a getaway. But since we're trapped in this town, well… it's safer to stay here than in town. Especially since you put that magic on it to keep people out."

"Which is why you shouldn't have left this morning," Regina shot back, standing to get the now whistling tea kettle on the stove. "What Neal said… was it true?"

The man's shoulders slumped. "Aye. All of it is true. But he doesn't know the full story. The truth was, his mother and I decided to run off together. It was a few years later that we came back, and the crocodile had become the Dark One himself. Baelfire had gone. And when we saw each other again all of that bad blood came rushing back. He and I fought, I lost my hand… but it was his father that dealt the fatal blow to Milah and caused me to go to Neverland in the first place."

She frowned as she looked at him. "I see. I wonder if he knows about that?"

Hook shrugged. "Who knows. If he does he might not even believe it with his darkness. He's not exactly being as rational as he used to be."

"No, he's not. But I suppose this needed to all come out eventually. I didn't think Henry's father would be the catalyst for all of my crimes coming tonight but… here we are," she sighed, feeling her shoulders slump. "I just don't know how we can possibly make up for what we've done with so many angry people here."

"Maybe you were right in Neverland. Maybe we don't deserve a happy ending."

She wanted to agree with him, considering all that had happened to them, but instead, she thought she'd try something new, and shook her head. "No. I was wrong. And I don't know about you, but I'm going to fight for my happy ending, no matter what Hyde wants. The people from the Land of Untold Stories are getting a second chance, and that's what I felt I was getting in the curse. So if they can get a second chance, we can too, right?"

God, she sounded so much like her step-daughter, but at the moment, those little hope speeches were making perfect sense.

Hook hesitated a little, but eventually, he nodded in agreement. "We could have villains in this town besides Hyde. Why do they deserve a second chance and not us?"

"Exactly," Regina said. "So let's get off of this ship."

There was a lingering glance between them as they made their way onto the deck of the ship, only broken by her stepdaughter's cry.

"Regina! Thank goodness! I was so worried about you. Are you okay?" Snow babbled. "Oh – Hook! Your eye…"

"I'm fine. We're both fine," Regina said. "We're ready to take back this town from Hyde. So where do we start?"

Snow grinned at both of them, and Regina could see her eyes were hiding something behind them, and Regina wasn't sure she wanted to know what that something was.

"You can patrol near the town line in case Emma manages to make it back with Lily. We don't want Hyde to prevent them from getting into town."

Regina nodded, vanishing with Hook to the town line, all of them unaware of the man sneaking through Storybrooke hospital, up to intensive care to Mary Lydgate's room, where she lay sleeping.

"Don't worry, my darling Mary. Soon the Dark One will be able to find a way for you and I to be together, and you won't have to worry about Hyde taking you away from me," Henry Jekyll whispered into the darkening room as the familiar jolt of pain which lead to his transformation into his monstrous form, and he quickly slipped out of the hospital through the back door, unnoticed, into the coming night.


	7. Chapter 7

His eyes burned and his ears were ringing, but Neal couldn't say he was surprised at the outcome of the little magic-science experiment they had been attempting. An explosion that had broken everything they'd been using. It wasn't like it would take a lot to fix it, just a simple wave of his hand, but honestly, he didn't want to do this again.

Neal knew what was coming, but it didn't make the sting of the slap hurt any less.

"Why didn't it work?!" came Jekyll's frantic voice.

"I warned you, Jekyll. You and Hyde _both_. I can't change the laws of magic. And neither can science." Neal said simply, trying to keep his composure. He'd warned this idiot countless times that even the darkest of dark magic could not change the laws that had been set up. What Emma and Hook had done had been a restoration of what was written to happen. Zelena _had_ re-written something, but it hadn't been the past.

It had been _fate_. Although all things considered, it had worked out in her favor since his father would have ended up killing her had he died at the Dark One's vault, even if it meant that he was like this.

Jekyll let out a frustrated growl, stepping back. "Fine. We'll try something else then."

"Why can't you just woo her?" Neal asked with a frown. "You know, flowers, chocolates. The usual."

"You don't think I haven't tried?!" Jekyll shouted. "She rejected me! Me! After everything I did for her!"

It took all of Neal's effort not to roll his eyes in disgust, understanding why this Mary woman wouldn't want anything to do with Jekyll. "I can't imagine why. But sometimes, women see men as friends."

"No! I'll make her see that I am the superior one. Not Hyde! And then we can rule Storybrooke together!"

Neal was really questioning which one was the evil one in this situation. If it were up to him, both of them would have met their end and Mary would be free to live without fear.

With the dagger attached to Jekyll's hip, it wasn't possible for him to escape yet, but Neal knew that his father and Emma were going to stop them.

"You can't show her how superior you are if you're going around keeping me hostage and acting like a nutcase. And your partner can't either if he's going around trying to reveal personal secrets people don't want others to know," Neal said, rolling his eyes. "Why are you doing that anyway?"

"Everyone has a story they don't want to be told…" Jekyll said with a chuckle. "And it's fun to cause chaos, don't you think? That's why Hyde brought everyone here. It's fun to watch them squirm… once I make sure certain people are out of the way, I'll take over this little town. Finally, I can take revenge on the man that caused all the troubles in my life."

Neal had a sinking feeling, but he looked at the man in curiosity. "Who was that?"

Jekyll smirked, putting the dagger against Neal's cheek. "Why, your _father_ of course. Why else would I have picked _you_ to become the Dark One?" Jekyll was sounding hysterical now, and that worried Neal. Every time a villain got like this it never ended well for the innocents.

"Look, my father did a lot of things, but I highly doubt he had anything to do with Mary not having any romantic feelings toward you," Neal said with a frown. "Especially since magic can't interfere with love." As he had repeated more than once in the days since Jekyll and Hyde had captured him.

"That's why you need science to help balance the – " Jekyll began to say before another voice cut him off.

"Neal? Where are you?" came Anastasia's faint voice, far down one of the corridors of the mines.

He didn't think he'd ever been so happy to hear her voice.

"Ah, someone's come to find you, hm? Not yet, not yet…" Jekyll cackled, pulling the dagger away from Neal's cheek. "Send them away if they find us."

Neal growled under his breath, fingers flexing as magic flowed just beneath the skin. He wanted to scream out to Anastasia that yes, he was here, that all she needed to do was incapacitate Jekyll and he could be free of his control, but the problem was, he wasn't free just yet.

He growled under his breath at the man, itching to do something, _anything_ to him.

"We're getting close. I can sense his magic from here…" he heard his father then, and the urge to cry out like a lost little child grew, but he was tethered to the dagger, and Jekyll wouldn't allow him to.

 _"You_ can _do something about Jekyll, you know. All you'd have to do is distract him when his back is turned…"_ the vision of his father's darkness said with a giggle.

 _"When are you going to go away?!"_ Neal mentally groaned, looking at the vision.

 _"Never. I'll always be there, my dear boy. To support you in anything you do."_

 _"This is not the support I need! You weren't there for me when I was stuck in Neverland for three hundred years!"_ he snapped. _"I have support from my real father!"_

"Dark One, I command you to get us out of here," Jekyll growled when the shadows of his attempted rescuers appeared on the far wall.

Neal sighed and waved his hand, spiriting them back to their hideout, leaving a vial of the bright red liquid they'd been working on behind.

It wasn't much, but it was a small hint to what they had been working on, and he knew the others would figure it out.

"Don't worry, Dark One. I'll make sure you're set free before my plans fully come to fruition," Jekyll said, smirking and beginning to pour over the books again.

Neal could only roll his eyes as he stared out the window at the road out of town, seeing Emma's yellow bug coming down the road, and for the first time in a day, he felt a bit of hope in his darkening heart.

* * *

Anastasia made a mental checklist of the things she'd had to do that morning as she slipped herself into Granny's, ducking behind the main checkout desk. It was a bit of irony, really, that the two women were trapped in a small bed and breakfast room while Anastasia was in a good-sized house with the man she loved, and had a castle in Wonderland.

It gave her an immense amount of satisfaction.

"You sure you don't want to hide somewhere more comfortable, Ana? Like, in an empty room?" Ruby asked as she stood next to the crouching queen. "I mean… you _do_ have magic after all."

"I'm fine," Ana replied. "Just tell me when they get back."

"You know, this is the last reason I thought someone would be hiding underneath this desk when I was at work," Red sighed wistfully as she leaned against the desk and looked toward the door.

Ana knew she was probably being ridiculous, hiding like a coward, but she wanted to make sure she would catch her former family off-guard.

Fidgeting, Ana could only stare at her hands. Belle's speech had been what she needed, but the thought of confronting her mother again was still making her nervous.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take care of them next week during the full moon?" Ruby asked, sensing the tension radiating off of Ana.

"No. This is something I have to do myself."

Ruby simply shrugged and turned her attention back to the lists in front of her, and it wasn't long before Ana felt a nudge from the woman's knee, a piece of paper dropping to the ground next to her as footsteps were heard, and familiar hushed whispering faded as the footsteps moved further away.

 _Room 320._

Smirking, Anastasia vanished in a puff of smoke to the room, hearing her sister shriek in surprise.

"Dear mother and sister. I'd wondered if you'd appeared with the other lost souls."

"Anastasia, you _snake_. How dare you shove us into that world?!" her mother snarled, looking every bit as stuck up and petty that Anastasia remembered. It was clear that her years in exile hadn't done anything to improve her attitude.

The insult rolled off her back. "It actually worked out quite well for me," Anastasia said with a smile and a wave of her hand, dressing in one of her regal outfits she'd worn in Wonderland, the scarlet crown resting atop her head. "Isn't this what you wanted for us, Mother? Power and wealth beyond our imaginations? Well, look at me now. And I did it all without your help."

"No way. There's no way you're a queen. If you were, why are you in this dump of a town?" Drizella scoffed with disbelief, narrowing her eyes at her.

She grinned darkly at her sister. "Magic is a fickle thing, dear Drizella. And when you're in the wrong place at the wrong time, well, sometimes you just can't escape it. Snow White's curse was just one of those things. And yes dearest. I am a queen. I am the one and only queen of Wonderland thanks to Cora's unfortunate death."

To feel the darkness she'd fought against come back up around her mother and sister was concerning, but she was ignoring the rational part of her that said to tone it down. Her mother and sister had been the reason she'd been able to produce the magic to begin with She should be grateful, but with all of the memories flooding up from the depths of her soul…

It was so incredibly tempting to just thrust her hands into their chests and pull out their hearts. All it would take was a couple of quick movements –

"So why are you here?" Drizella asked.

Her thoughts were broken by her sister's question, and she shrugged, trying to get the darkness out of her head. "I just thought I'd come to see you. It's been _such_ a long time, you know. And of course, I wanted you to see how I've flourished in life, mother," she replied with a smile as she turned to the elder Tremaine.

"You've seen us. Now let's go back to Wonderland, so we can be a family again."

Anastasia shook her head. "I'm afraid going back isn't a simple thing, mother. The reason this town exists is because of a curse created by the darkest magic wielder in all the realms. It's not as easy as pushing you into a doorway with a key." Okay, that was sort of a lie – she could probably find the White Rabbit and have them brought back to Wonderland, but why would she want to do that?

She didn't want to live with her mother again; and if she _did_ find a way back to Wonderland, she'd leave her mother in Storybrooke, just as she'd done when she'd shoved her mother and sister into the Land of Untold Stories. But Storybrooke didn't deserve to suffer because she left her mother and sister behind.

"So we're trapped here?" Drizella asked.

"Yes."

Her mother let out an angry growling sort of noise. "Wonderful. So how exactly is this supposed to be a second chance for us?"

She wanted to be surprised that her mother still wasn't getting it, but she wasn't. "You can start by realizing that your attitude is exactly why I pushed you into The Land of Untold Stories," Anastasia said with a casual shrug. "And that your attitude isn't going to do you any good in this world, mother. You are not queen here. You aren't even a Lady anymore. You hold no power. Get used to it."

Her mother, red-faced and seething, opened her mouth to speak before the town was rattled by a violent tremor, and without a thought, Anastasia vanished from the room.

Secretly, she was glad for the distraction. She was getting way too close to tipping over the edge into the darkness that was still in her.

"Belle! Snow! Anyone?!" she called as she landed in front of the library, blue eyes looking around wildly for some sort of answer to what had happened.

"Ana!" came David's cry as the sheriff's car screeched to a halt in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes! I'm fine! Are you? What was that?" the words shot out of her mouth in a flurry as the townspeople around her tried to figure out the same thing. "Where's Snow?"

David shook his head. "I don't know, but whatever it was… it came from the mines. And Snow had to go up to the school to help calm things there."

"Isn't she supposed to be on maternity leave?"

"Apparently Mary-Margaret was good at calming people in a crisis and some of the newer students are having a hard time listening to the other teachers so Snow's going to try," David explained with a shrug.

Ana frowned and tilted her head as she scrambled over to the car and plopped herself in the passenger's seat. "Well then, let's go see what it was. Is Emma back yet?"

The siren blared as David sped off. "Not yet. She's supposed to be back relatively soon. She said her car broke down last night and they got delayed."

Gripping the door tight, Ana couldn't help but shiver slightly. "This has to be a Hyde thing, right? But it's daylight! It's too early for Hyde to be doing something like this isn't it?" she questioned.

"Those are some excellent questions that I hope we'll get the answer to," David replied with a frown. "Rumplestiltskin and Regina should be meeting us there."

"Good," Ana shivered.

The car ride was tense and quiet until David cleared his throat. "Can I ask what's up with your getup?"

Ana looked down at the crimson dress she was still wearing and gasped a little. "Oh. I had to prove a point to my mother and sister. One second." She waved her hand and changed back into the jeans and blouse she'd been wearing earlier in the day. "There we go."

"That's a much better outfit to fight crime in," David replied, the car screeching to a halt in front of the mines.

Smoke billowed out of the entrance to one of the caverns, and Ana was having a hard time figuring out if it was from the explosion or from one of her fellow magic users having arrived before them.

"Shall we go inside then?" Ana asked, looking at David with uncertain eyes. She didn't like any of this, and it was clear he didn't either.

"Yeah. Let's go."

She heard the safety of David's gun click as they slowly made their way into the mines.

"Regina, Rumplestiltskin!" she whispered when she spotted the two sorcerers, sneaking up to the two of them with David. "Have you found anything yet?"

"Nothing yet," Regina said with a sigh. "Everything okay at the school, David?"

David nodded. "Last I checked it was, but I asked Will to go there to make sure. The biggest problem they're having there is calming the younger kids down."

" _Focus_ ," Rumplestiltskin growled. "We need to find my son."

The other three exchanged a nervous glance and continued to follow the former Dark One down the corridor.

"Neal? Where are you?" Anastasia called.

"This way," Rumplestiltskin said, turning to the right when they approached a fork in the road and they followed anxiously, their footsteps quickening. "We're getting close. I can sense his magic from here…"

They stopped in a large cavern, a bright red vial of liquid the only evidence anyone had been there.

"We were too late…" Regina whispered as she picked up the vial and holding it up to the dim light of the cave. "I've never seen anything like this before, have you?"

"I'll take it and examine it," Rumplestiltskin said, snatching the vial from Regina's hand and vanishing from the cavern.

David's cell phone chimed, Anastasia sighing and looking at Regina in concern as he pulled it out.

"Emma's back with Lily," he said. "We might as well head back to town. There's nothing we can do here."

Ana nodded, taking his arm and vanishing back to the entry of the mines with him. "I'm supposed to meet Will at Granny's for lunch. Mind if I get a ride with you?"

"Not at all."

She could have easily poofed herself back to town, but having company was nice. Poofing around town reminded her too much of the darkness inside of her that she was trying to suppress, and she still felt on edge after her meeting with her mother and sister.

The ride back was filled with an awkward, sad silence. They had been so close. But that was how it always seemed to be. Just when they thought they could save Neal, it was ripped away from them again. Anastasia hadn't known the man long, but it was awful to think about, as someone who knew what the darkness could do to someone innocent, it made her sick. Not to mention, the whole being controlled thing couldn't be easy on his mind.

"We'll break the curse on Neal," David said as if sensing her thoughts. "It seems bleak now – "

"I know. This just feels like when I was in Wonderland and we were trying to beat Jafar. It seemed like it would never end. I didn't think I'd feel that helplessness again this soon, that's all," Anastasia explained as they saw Emma's familiar yellow bug on the corner by the diner. "Thank you for the ride, David. Let us know if you find something else out."

She exited the car, quickly heading into Granny's and giving Will a soft kiss before taking a seat across from him.

As she put in her order, she glanced outside and saw Snow White and Henry Mills leading Maleficent over to Emma's car.

"So that's Mal's daughter, huh? I'm surprised Regina hasn't been burned to a crisp yet," Will commented as he followed her gaze to the touching reunion between mother and daughter, and her heart shattered. "I would've killed her at this point."

"Will, you stole a mirror from her. I'm surprised she didn't kill _you_ ," Ana snapped, before frowning slightly at her own words. "Sorry."

She saw him frown and look at her. "You're thinkin' about your mum, aren't you?" he asked quietly.

"It's a little hard watching a mother and daughter reunion considering Lady Tremaine called me a snake earlier," she admitted when Will squeezed her hand gently as the Charmings made their way toward the diner.

"They ain't your family anymore. You got a new one… and we won't let Hyde and the Dark One take that away from you."

Anastasia couldn't help but smile, a bit of hope beginning to glimmer inside her.


End file.
